Global Courant 2023-04-27 06:49:50
As jury selection in Young Thug’s trial is expected to enter its fifth month in May, his attorney filed a fourth motion to release his client on bail as the rapper faces gang-related charges in a sweeping RICO suit in Fulton County, Georgia.
Attorney Brian Steel, who represents the Grammy-winning rapper whose legal name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, told ABC News in a phone interview Wednesday that his client is not at risk and should be released while he awaits trial.
“Mr. Williams has no risk of committing a crime and he has no risk of fleeing jurisdiction and that’s what a band is all about,” said Steel.
Steel added that his client, who was present in the courtroom during the months-long jury selection, is “sleep deprived” because he wakes up at 4 or 5 am and does not return to the detention center until late. hampered his ability to prepare for this process.
The Grammy-winning rapper was denied bail three times last year after being arrested in May 2022 and charged with eight counts.
In this February 3, 2022 file photo, rapper Young Thug attends a game between the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images, FILE
The rapper was initially charged with conspiracy to violate the state’s Act on Racketeering of Affected and Corrupt Organizations and participating in criminal street gang activities, and was later charged with participating in street gang activities, three counts of violating the Georgia controlled substances, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a machine gun.
“This indictment is important because it targets 28 people who decided to get involved with a criminal street gang and really wreaked havoc in our community,” said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office is prosecuting this case. said at a May 10, 2022 press conference announcing the indictment.
“That havoc includes crimes of violence, crimes of robbery, crimes involving drugs,” she added.
Young Thug pleaded not guilty on all eight counts and will stand trial along with 13 co-defendants.
“Mr. Williams has not broken the law in any way. We will fight this case ethically, legally and diligently. Mr. Williams will be acquitted,” Steel told ABC News on May 10, 2022 after the charges were announced by the Fulton County The district attorney’s office.
Young Thug was one of 28 individuals named in the indictment allegedly associated with the Atlanta-based Young Slime Life (YSL) — a gang prosecutors say was founded by Young Thug in 2012. is also the name of the rapper’s label – an imprint of 300 Entertainment. The label is not named in the suit.
The case, which immediately garnered national attention due to Young Thug’s star power, has also highlighted prosecutors’ controversial use of rap lyrics in court, sparking a movement in the music industry for “Protect Black Art” and sparking conversations about freedom of expression in hip-hop.
The indictment contains references to lyrics by the rapper and other defendants — an issue that took center stage at a hearing on Wednesday, as “Rap on Trial” co-author Erik Nielson testified at a hearing to qualify experts on the subject.
Steel filed a motion in December 2022 asking the judge to stop prosecutors from using the rapper’s lyrics as evidence in court, and argued in a motion obtained by ABC News that the plaintiff’s use of lyrics in this case is “racist and discriminatory” because it could bias a jury against the rapper.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s office filed a motion in response, defending the use of song lyrics and requesting a hearing to hear the case.
According to Steel, the judge said the motion over the use of lyrics could be heard at a pre-trial hearing in May or June.
Jury selection began on January 4, but no jurors have been seated to date.
